Help SSRI/SNRI users, have your meds worked for you?

[nightmare_moon]

I've been considering taking antidepressants, but I never actually got into the habit of taking them so I never got to feel the effect before my psychiatrist took me off them. If you have any extra input or personal experience, I would love to hear. Thank you for your help! <3

 

[Reuthry]

I used to take Prozac with aripiprazole for sometime and they didn't help in any type of way. I used mirtazapine and carbamazepine for some time still no difference. I got ECT and still no difference. I started using Effexor and Wellbutrin with Quetiapine with Xanax and I still use them, I can say that they stabilize my mood, I experience depersonalization and derealization (due to depression) less. I actually felt less depressed in the first 3 month of using them, I am now still depressed just like the time I started using these meds, but honestly they sort of stabilize my mood, I don't usually have this sudden crazy changes in my mood anymore. I have been taking them for a long time with minor changes in dosage time to time (doctor determines it). Overall these are the things that changed things at least a bit.

 

[Stormy Raine]

Antidepressants helped me only by stabilizing my mood! I was unable to cry anymore and eventually I stopped taking them because they can't erase all my past trauma so I find them pointless..for me. I've learned to focus on things that make me less sad, I don't use the word happy.

 

[dinosavr]

SSRI didn't work, I've been on SNRI for almost 2 months and nothing yet but we'll see.
I also have to admit that I'm not sure what effect I should expect lol

 

[nightmare_moon]

SSRI didn't work, I've been on SNRI for almost 2 months and nothing yet but we'll see.
I also have to admit that I'm not sure what effect I should expect lol

I'm hoping the meds help you out at least a little!

 

[Dot]

Thnk 1 thng tht = importnt t/ remmbr = tht a sampl of ppl frm SaSu wll genrlly b ppl tht hve bn faild b/ mny treatmnts - ppl wh/ hve th/ mst postve xpernces of ADs wll genrlly nt bcme membrs or SaSu

 

[nightmare_moon]

Thnk 1 thng tht = importnt t/ remmbr = tht a sampl of ppl frm SaSu wll genrlly b ppl tht hve bn faild b/ mny treatmnts - ppl wh/ hve th/ mst postve xpernces of ADs wll genrlly nt bcme membrs or SaSu

I should've thought of that first shouldn't I.

 

[prettycvnt]

I was on a TCA that actually made me feel better for a bit but ended up triggering my mania so I don't take it anymore.

 

[until death]

The medication isn't helping me

 

[Abyssal]

I take Zoloft. It works but it's not a cure.

 

[AnxietyHangover]

I started my antidepressant and antipsychotic journey with escitalopram 20mg, olanzapine 5mg, and mirtazapine 30mg. I felt good for approximately two months. After that I moved to venlafaxine, aripiprazole and valproic acid. I had to increase the dosage multiple times, each time I felt good for a while then the effects diminished. Right now I'm on 300mg of venlafaxine, 10mg of aripiprazole and 500mg of valproic acid. My mood is stable, I very rarely hear or see things, I no longer have daily random panic attacks but I still want to ctb. This is my experience. Would I try something else? No because venlafaxine is tough to quit, and I'll want to ctb regardless.

 

[Dot]

I should've thought of that first shouldn't I.

= ok
= stll undrstndble t/ ask ppl - = jst wrth keepng in mnd & askng in diffrnt plces t/ gt a balncd opinn
ADs cn b v helpfl t/ sme ppl bt also cn mke thngs wrse fr othrs s/ imo = jst a cse of weghng up rsks & benfts etc

 

[prtsn]

I tried a lot of different ones through the years but no, most of them just made me feel like I was astral projecting in a bad and uncomfortable way. the only thing that really made me feel a little bit better (with myself, mood, world, everything tbh) was microdosing. I don't recommend any type of drugs nor it is advice from me, I took them with the supervision of my psychiatrist at the time.

 

[AboutTom]

They gave me so bad anxiety that i coudnt sleep for days.

 

[Forever Sleep]

To be fair, I only took one course of Fluoexetine (Prozac) but they didn't seem to do anything but give me a metallic taste in my mouth.

 

[Ernest1964]

I've been on Effexor for 20+ years and if not for that I would have CTB a long time ago.

 

[nightlygem]

I have no clue if mine works anymore. Like another user, I take prozac and aripiprazole. The former is at a higher dose and the latter at a standard dose. I'm too scared to ween off of prozac though… not sure why. The days I don't take my meds I feel the most suicidal so I don't like playing with them.

 

[findmybridgesocal]

In my opinion ketamine and psilocybin are both dramatically superior to ssri/snris.


Both are far more enjoyable, less bad side effects, and far more effective.


Ketamine is easy to get online.

 

[delphi4470]

Used to take zoloft, kinda helped but the side effects were too much

 

[IsThisEverything]

I've been on SSRIs, SNRIs, atypical antidepressants, TCAs, antipsychotics, and others. You name it, I've been on it. None of them have improved my mood at all. I just get side effects. I think I'm just one of those people that antidepressants don't work for.

 

[Dolphin55]

Sertraline (Zoloft) has helped me, not so much the depression, but made my anxiety easier to deal with. However, you must persist through the initial side effects (which can suck for some people) to see if it will work for you.

 

[Kasumi]

Been on SNRI's and SSRI's so far,.. aside from tiredness and gastrointestinal problems they did nothing for me.
Probably gonna try TCA's next though I gotta check with my Psychiatrist first, there is a low risk of heart related problems since I'm taking other meds that they might have bad interactions with.
Though I don't really have much hope they'll do anything,.. somehow I can tell, maybe cause even if I can't put it in words, I somewhere know that where those things come from for me isn't a place meds can reach.

I had very good experiences with anxolytics though, namely Alprazolam works as good as I could hope with 0 side effects. (for anxiety obv. not depressive symptoms)

 

[LonelyFerret]

Somewhat. I've been through 3 SSRIs and I'm currently on my 2nd SNRI. One medication gave me an anaphylactic reaction and another gave me heart palpitations. I've gotten the general GI/sexual stuff with just about all of them. My doctor had me do a genetic test to rule out SSRI's because my body doesn't metabolize them well. The med I'm on now helps my anxiety so I don't get panic attacks as often but I'm still extremely depressed. After almost 2 years of trying meds, I'm so tired of it so I've chosen to opt out of life soon.

 

[vitbar]

I take a SNRI, venlafaxine, it has made a huge difference. I still get depressive episodes. It's expected when someone has had depression for so long. It becomes ingrained and takes work to overcome. The episodes are shorter and much less intense. In general I am far more emotionally resiliant.

 

[Celerity]

SSRIs never did anything for me. Bupropion, an SNRI, seemed to be working for a hot minute but then nothing. Unlike the other meds, I had an experience of mild euphoria on it similar to hypomania. Either I took far too much by accident or someone at the pharma factory fucked up because I felt a definite mood shift. Everyone was fucking hot for no reason, I believed that everything in my life was destined to work out, and I could work my ass off like a madwoman without tiring. Lasted for a day and then never happened again even when I upped my dose well past what the psychiatrist prescribed.

The long-term effect it's supposed to have never really materialized. Personally, after looking at the evidence, I view antidepressants as little better than a scam. Most of the effect is placebo and, while I didn't suffer too many side effects, the ones people often do experience don't seem worth the pitiful benefit the data have revealed.

I personally got more from atypical antipsychotics, Seroquel/Quetiapine in particular, but they come with an overflowing basket of side effects. I had to get off the Seroquel, and it too seemed to stop working pretty quickly.

Try them. See if they are for you. Unfortunately, you have a biased crowd here being that this is a suicide forum. There are a ton of threads that equate these drugs to straight-up poison. Be comforted by the fact that the people reporting major side effects are a minority. You are seeing a very strong selection effect.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I've been on SSRIs for almost 5 years when I was on my late teens/early twenties. They kept me from feeling too dangerously depressed. I still cut myself and cry every night but I was feeling less terrible than without them.
Now I'm taking them again, along with anti psychotics, same as in the past just higher dosage on the anti psychotics. They do help, sometimes I feel I can't cry which can be both good or frustrating depending on the mood.

Personally, I think medication has saved my life but I always had psychotherapy to go along with the medication. I think without the therapy it wouldn't have helped as much.